Stargate: Dark Frontier 2x06 Lighted Way
by Lone-ranger1
Summary: When Sam discovers a strange signal from the Space Station in orbit, she leads a team across the galaxy chasing it down. What they find is a road full of questions, but will they like the final answers?
1. Chapter 1

**Stargate: Dark Frontier**

**Season 2**

**Episode 6 – Lighted Way**

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_376 Days IHO_

_68 Days AOI_

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For information on season 1, go to

http(COLON)/sg-darkfrontier(DOT)wikia(DOT)com/wiki/Stargate(COLON)_Dark_Frontier_Wiki

**Previously on Dark Frontier:** _With a Space Station in orbit, the Travelers are starting to feel a little more at home somewhere that the gravity is artificial, and the air is recycled. Given it's unusual construction and technologies, it only stands to reason that science teams are on board._

_Sam's once again in her domain, science and technology perhaps not beyond anything she'd dreamed of, but discovering, but the secrets of the station might take them on a bigger journey for the team than simply to orbit._

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**A/N: **For those not in the know, this is an extra episode to Season 2. Originally 20 episodes, Season 2 is now 26 episodes long. This is also an 'extended' episode as it's more than just 5 chapters due to its somewhat larger size.

* * *

John blew a heavy sigh as he sat next to Sam at the foot of this computer console she'd fallen in love with. It was the same damn control room he'd left her in before with Rafaela when the Shade had popped up a week ago. "Not that i don't like spending time together, but why am I _needed _here?"

Sam rolled her eyes. John's constant complaining had become a little endearing, except when it was directed at her. "Because we don't know if the Ancients had any mental interface technology on this station, and I'd rather have you around than have to call you later." She smiled at him, obviously teasing. "Besides, I thought you liked spending time with me."

John knew it was pointless to argue with her. The station had been refueled using a few spare Traveler Generators and was up to decent capacity. The addition of lights, full gravity, and even just more people around had turned the scary looking place into a carbon copy of Atlantis. Literally in this case.

Looking around at how the Travelers had already begun to move their furniture in, he realized that some things just couldn't be fought. "I _do,_ But usually we're golfing or eating lunch or just watching a movie. You could have brought Alicia or one of the people with the gene therapy. I _could_ be using this time productively."

Finishing the latest translation of the old Alteran script to English, Sam shrugged and began to go over the different commands the menu allowed. "This is fun! We're on a space station six hundred million light years from Earth finding out so much about the Ancients we didn't know!" John gave her a pedantic glare, as if they couldn't be doing just as much back on Atlantis. Sam switched tact. "Besides, I don't think Alicia likes me. Then again I really haven't spent much time with her so I may be jumping to conclusions." She kept her voice calm and controlled. This was a professional talk, not a personal chat. "You know, it's funny. I met her years ago when I was still at the SGC and we found out some Earth mercenaries had gotten loose in the galaxy, and I really don't know her that well. Guess I've got to make up for lost time."

John raised his eyebrows in excitement and got up. "Does that mean I can go? She'll come here and you two can have 'girl' talk?" John motioned with his hands towards the exit, obviously eager.

Sam's curious glance turned dangerous, and John knew to shut up. When he silenced, Sam smiled again. "Maybe some other time. Now, let's see if you're here for a reason or just keeping me company."

John got up from his seat and stood next to where Sam was busy working on the console. She tried to bring up one of the commands but was quickly redirected to something else. She huffed in annoyance, and read the new screen that had come up. "Eugh, the Ancients must have been channeling Microsoft. Built in pop-ups." She quickly closed it using the touch screen interface, and tried to open up a different menu option. Again, the same pop-up from before appeared. "Argh!"

John rubbed Sam's shoulder seeing her frustration. "Should I call in Geek Squad?"

Sam elbowed John softly in the ribs, and then tried again. The same pop-up appeared once more and demanded attention. "Oh for cryin' out…" She tapped into the communications system and said, "Rafaela, are you there?"

A moment passed, and Rafaela's voice came through. "_Sam? Yeah, I'm here. We're checking out those solar panels we found to see exactly how they work. Need something?"_

"Yeah, actually, if you could find a console and try and access the main database?"

John watched as Sam remained silent. She gave him a look that told him to remain quiet, and he relented. Not like he really _wanted_ to take control here. He just wanted to get back down to Atlantis and actually _do _something beyond sit and admire - well, there _were_ worse things he could be doing.

_"Uhh…okay, I'm at the console but it's giving me a pop-up. Says that we need to unlock the way or something, I can't understand what it says that well."_

John rubbed Sam's shoulders some more, now fully trying to de-stress her. He'd learned that a relaxed Sam was much less of a potential headache than a tense and ready to snap Sam. The fact that she'd reciprocate later had little to do with it... At least that's what John kept telling himself.

Sam shrugged her shoulders enjoying the massage, and spoke into the radio. "Uhh, damn. Okay. I'm going to see what this pop-up leads to. I want everyone prepared for anything. Spread the word." She looked to John and nodded softly.

He let go of her shoulders and realized she was serious. John nodded once and assured Sam he was ready.

It was an agonizing few minutes, but eventually all the teams on the station checked in that they were ready. Sam took a deep breath, and then opened up the pop-up that dominated the screen.

Nothing happened for a few moments as the screen faded to black. Sam was just about to curse when the lights suddenly flickered then came back online.

Sam was confused and scratched her temple. Before she could say anything, a voice cut through the radio. _"Hey! This is Aralus! There's an ancestral ring on the lower levels! We just saw it flash open!"_

John raised his eyebrows. "A Stargate? How the hell'd we miss that?"

Sam huffed. Looking down at the screen she saw a set of coordinates flashing. When she tried to regain control of the system, the coordinates stayed at the top as if they were some kind of bulletin. What appeared to be a signal emenated towards the Stargate as well as one _from_ the planet.

John recognized it as a Stargate address and shrugged. "Guess we've got a productive use of our time now."

It was a good thing John had gotten used to Sam's glare, violence was never a good thing between them.

* * *

Teyla watched from Daniel's office as teams were shuffling in and out of the Gate Room bringing in supplies, sending out probes and survey teams. A few had even begun to establish small offworld colonies for farmers that didn't feel right on Atlantis. The planets were chosen very carefully to avoid Olim Detection and possible Shade interference, so typically only a sensor package was sent with them for early warning. Teyla could have probably remembered what each one had requested in so far as mission and equipment, but she was more concerned about the strange happenings in the station above.

Sam had found something aboard the space station which John had dubbed the "Lucy." Only the Earthborn seemed to get the joke, and even some of _them_ were confused. John had had to explain about the Beatles and their signature song, but it still seemed very esoteric to say the least. She'd had an argument with Daniel over the validity of naming the station that which Daniel had found amusing. She still wasn't sure whether to get even, or get revenge.

Teyla saw John leaning on his rifle as he waited for the rest of the team Sam had requested, Curiously she wondered what he must have been thinking.

John wasn't afraid of bending the barrel or damaging the internal mechanisms as he leaned on it.. The FN-SCAR was built to last and even more so since this was one of the newest prototypes made by the engineering division using stronger Traveler Materials and the foundry, he could probably shoot it with another gun and it'd still work perfectly.

Beside him, Alicia, Dan and Aleron were awaiting the last two members of their team for this mission. All were dressed in their now personally fitted Proteus Armors and armed accordingly. Given the conditions of the planet they were going to, the camouflage had been adjusted accordingly to the sandy dull yellows he'd grown accustomed to in Afghanistan..

Alicia carried a battle rifle version of the SCAR, a 10x scope on top. She'd personally designed the pattern on her armor to resemble blood stains when in it's new 'natural' colored blue and red. John couldn't help but think that she'd allowed her psychotic side to handle that fashion choice.

Aleron carried a P90 and a Particle Rifle, John having noted the Olim liked to fight up close and personal. His armor's natural color was the same black and brown as their uniforms. Then again he hadn't really had a choice.

Dan on the other hand carried one of the new Gauss Rifles, it was heavy, it looked like something out of a bad first person shooter, and it distinctly reminded John of the Lantean weapons he'd seen the Asurans use, but it was still badass. His armor's natural colors was now a mix of dark green and brown, woodland colors. Since this was just a recon mission to a desert planet though, all of their suits had been retinted for the environment. Nobody was expecting any combat beyond maybe native fauna.

He checked his own armor out, it hadn't been a surprise to anyone when he'd gone with matte black on dark grey for his natural suit's color. John was pleased with the level of personalization the lack of a unified government on his ass all the time gave him. It felt more like this was his home rather than his posting.

John had to admit, he liked that this mission wasn't so important on the scale of things in the galaxy. It had been a surprise to hear Sam so excited about a simple signal.

Then again it had caused a bit of a stir. Once the shock of finding a Stargate on the station was over, Sam and Rafaela had combined their intelligence and found a program on the computer that hinted at more Ancient technology out there.

The Stargate had dialed an unknown planet, and sent a burst transmission through. Daniel and the council then agreed that it was worth it to track the signal down. Instead of Daedalus or a Traveler ship going to explore it though, Sam and John were going to lead a team through the Stargate to get there sooner. John didn't exactly understand why this was so important to her, but all he needed to know was that it was.

Looking at his team, he was glad to see the three younger members chatting amicably. Alicia had begun to calm down finally, and while obviously not accepting Aleron, she tolerated him. Dan was much more professional, still cracking wise, but keeping it tactful… for the most part. The important thing was that he kept his cool in combat and never let his personal life affect his professional. John didn't like it, but there really wasn't much he could nor should have done.

Aleron was a still mystery though, John could swear he felt a strange aura around the man, almost as if he could _taste_ some form of anger and resentment from the Olim. Yet he still joked around, and offered his assistance whenever needed. It almost felt like speaking with a poseur.

Sam had requested his presence in case they ran into anything that the Olim might know. Aleron was still very careful with what information he divulged and what he kept to himself. That and he was still walking into things which John had finally admitted was downright hilarious.

Finally, after almost ten minutes of waiting, John spotted Sam and Ronon heading towards them from the Armory nearby. He was a little surprised to see Sam carrying a Gauss rifle on her back, and Ronon with his sword, particle magnum, _and_ a bandoleer of grenades. "Uhh…you guys know something I don't?"

Sam turned her head up to the sound of footsteps and spotted Daniel, Teyla and Nevas heading down towards them from up above in the control room. She then turned to John and said. "Dragons."

John simply blinked in reply. He didn't get it. "Uhh…Dragons?"

Sam nodded, and the rest of the team came closer. John chuckled to try and play off his ignorance. "Ha-ha, yeah, right. Well, if you wanna call them that…"

As Daniel stepped up, he made on O with his mouth and asked. "Call them what?"

John shrugged and seeing that the entire team had gathered, explained. "Dragons. Sam wants to call the Shade dragons."

"You haven't told them?"Daniel didn't laugh, but he gave Sam a knowing glare. Sam simply shook her head.

So Dan, knowing full well that this was a very very bad sign, asked. "Uhh…okay. What's this about dragons?"

Sam sighed, and explained. "Have you ever heard of the story of Saint George?"

Alicia nodded, and recited it from memory. "Yeah, there was this village that was being oppressed by a dragon and they would sacrifice virgin girls to it in order to appease it. Saint George came along one day and killed the dragon in exchange for the people to become Christian.

Everyone stared at her, obviously they hadn't expected her to know about something so obscure. Alicia huffed in irritation. "Hey! Just because I can take your head off at a thousand feet doesn't mean I can't know stuff like this too. I still have a St. George Medallion in my stuff. My grandmother gave it to me."

Dan snorted, Aleron wrinkled his brow in confusion, Ronon simply stifled a groan, while John, Daniel and Sam all nodded in pedantic agreement.

"Right…" Daniel began. "Anyways, Yes. Dragons."

John still didn't understand. "What? You think we're going to run into a dragon?"

Sam shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Aleron scratched his temple still very confused. "I'm sorry, I only know of this "dragon' creature from something Alicia showed me called 'Spyro'. Is a Dragon some kind of purple flying reptile that breathes fire?"

Dan winced and resisted a laugh. Alicia blushed and tried to explain. "Umm… no. Well, yes but not purple. I think what Doctor Jackson and Colonel Carter are talking about is their mission to find the Sangral device to use against the Ori a few years back… right?" She looked to Sam seeking confirmation.

Sam nodded and elaborated. "That's right. Last time we tracked something like this down, we ended up having to fight a real fire breathing dragon that was bullet proof."

Daniel added sarcastically. "And had a taste for C4."

Both Teyla and Nevas were dumbstruck. Neither had _ever _ heard such a ridiculous thing before. Teyla finally asked, "So you fought a dragon?"

"Did you kill it?" Nevas added.

Daniel shook his head. "Well, yes and no. It was a test designed by the Ancients to protect the Sangral. I'm not _literally_ expecting you guys to find a Dragon this time but…" Sam cocked the first slug into her Gauss Rifle, emphasizing her point as the gun's capacitors began to audibly charge up. "…you can't be too careful.

Ronon finally spoke, now quite annoyed. "Let's just go. If we kill a dragon then at least we'll eat alright."

Everyone but Aleron grimaced.

* * *

Stepping through the 'gate, the team kept their airtight helmets on to avoid direct exposure to the sun's rays and the hot air of the planet. The initial probe through to the planet showed that the atmosphere was breathable, albeit barely, and the humidity was somewhere around zero. The long sand dunes and scorching sun overhead told the team exactly what to bring. Water, and lots of it.

They filed through easily, and noted that the DHD was half buried, though still visible. John motioned with his head to Ronon and made a circular motion with his hand, Aleron and Dan caught it too and the quartet began to circle the area, checking for any dangers or possible leads. Alicia stayed with Sam, watching her back as Sam used a modified life signs detector to track the signal's possible location.

Sam saw that Alicia was behind her, and motioned with her head to come closer. She opened a private channel and said. "What do you think, Major?"

Alicia took a quick look around. Sand dunes as far as the eye could see. "I can hear Chuck already, 'Dune'." She chuckled and sighed. "You know, I'm no geek, but with Chuck handling all the movie nights, I feel like I'm infected." She quickly realized that she was talking to Sam, and added. "Uhh, Ma'am."

Sam smiled, both at the joke and how Alicia was reacting to her presence. "It's alright, Major. I'm not big on formality. I'd think the last year would have told you that." Sam began to zero in on a direction to head in and added. "Please, call me Sam."

A little uncomfortable with how her commanding officer was offering a rather quick olive branch, Alicia quickly thought about how long it had taken to reach the same level with John. It'd been almost four months of working together and continual head butting before she'd finally relented. She still remembered Dusty's birthday party and just lying there under the stars.

Alicia pushed that thought out of her head, it was unbecoming to act like a lovesick teenager. A little hero-worship wasn't that bad…was it? Furthermore, Sam was considered a 'national treasure' back home for her intellect and courage. What did that say about Alicia if she didn't accept? "Alright… Sam. Call me Alicia then."

Sam noted the hesitation, and decided to try and keep things light and fluffy, though given just how hot the atmosphere around them, she wouldn't be surprised if soon she developed something akin to a bitchy friendship with the woman. John had been adamant that anything that may or may not have happened with Alicia was over, and Sam was over it all. Apparently Alicia wasn't though, so Sam just continued zeroing in and continuing the simple conversation. "So Alicia, all I really know about you is your CSV, have anything to add?"

A little taken aback by the question, Alicia followed the rules John had laid down. When backed into a corner, snark. "I can touch my nose with my toe?"

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	2. Chapter 2

"Ugh, dormito en caloraso."

John turned to Aleron and screwed his face. "Doritos have tons of calories? Yeah, I know, that's why I don't eat them."

Aleron chuckled, and carefully stepped along the soft sand. "The heat is making me sleepy. Most of my training involved cold temperatures. Most Olim are uncomfortable in the heat."

Turning back to where Sam and Alicia were, John noted that they were moving off on their own now. "Meh, I kinda like the cold, has a fresh feel to it. Although if I had my choice, I wouldn't live anywhere it isn't tropical."

Aleron chuckled, and bent down to sift the sand through his hands. "And live with the bugs? At least you'll never lack for meat." Lifting a handful of the sand, Aleron sighed. "The ground is dead. I don't think this planet has had life on it for a long time."

John snorted, "No shit. Just needs a pool, maybe an umbrella and some bikini's for the ladies and I might set up a resort." Only now realizing what Aleron had said, John added. "Wait. Bugs? You mean Outpost Zeta Twelve?"

Aleron furrowed his brow. "Pardon? You mean the outpost we sent you to?"

"Yeah."

Aleron snorted. "One of many, not outposts, but bug ridden worlds. Do you remember Cadman, Chuck and Drake's mission to Centaurus?" John nodded. "There is a monument there. When my ancestors first landed, they encountered the bugs. It took several years for us to hunt them all down. We've encountered them on a dozen other worlds, who know how many they control."

John's jaw dropped, he was glad he was wearing his helmet or else a rather dry heat would have invaded his lungs. "You're pullin' my leg."

Again confused, Aleron muttered. "Why would I pull your leg? If I wanted to trip you I'd just swipe it out from under you. Pulling doesn't make sense."

John just bowed his head and cursed mildly that the Stargate didn't translate context.

* * *

Dan and Ronon were standoffish to say the least, Ronon had quickly given up trying to track anything, obviously there was nothing around and he wasn't going to waste his time searching for nothing.

Dan on the other hand kept eyeing the horizon. He'd seen plenty of old western movies and knew there was always a charging brigade on the other side of the hill. All that was left was for him to be wearing a cowboy hat and he knew he was dead.

Then again, given the looks Ronon was giving subtly him, Dan knew his life was in danger. So what if Ronon caught him visiting Dusty one day? He hadn't been to her room in days and he missed his friend. Did that make him some kind of criminal?

Okay, yes he was a criminal, but a crime is only a crime if someone finds out. Visiting Dusty was _not_ a crime. Dan had liked the Satedan at first, but now there seemed to be a silent animosity between the two, and for some reason it was his friendship with Dusty that caused it.

Dan had always been civil, and truth be told he did think Dusty was pretty hot. But he'd _never_ done anything inappropriate apart from his language, so what was Ronon's problem?

Ronon on the other hand was questioning just when he'd regained his edge. Those last few months in Pegasus had been desperate, saving as many as possible, fighting the Wraith any which was possible. He'd seen Dan as a fellow warrior, someone who could dish out the pain and take it just as well.

That was before he'd gotten to know the man. He wasn't an honorable man in the same sense that the other Earther's were. Ronon knew for a _fact_ that despite many claims to the contrary, John was _not_ a philandering man like Dan was. He'd gotten past his own culture, this wasn't Sateda and apart from a few survivors they'd evacuated from Balkan, he was alone. Ronon couldn't expect others to conform to his beliefs, but he could make sure he didn't betray his conscience and morals.

Sleeping with seven women whom you weren't committed to wasn't something Ronon called honorable. Especially if there weren't any feelings involved.

Ronon was instead focusing on his own life and how he could help those he cared about. To say he was training all the Travelers and Settlers who'd volunteered to defend a woman he loved was faulty. He'd become more than just a warrior. Ronon enjoyed imparting his knowledge, the honor of being a soldier and more, someone who could protect that which he loved, whether it be a lover, a friend, or even a home.

Ronon was fighting more than just enemies now, he was fighting ignorance, he was fighting comfort, and he was breaking down the barriers of people belief in a right to freedom.

Freedom wasn't free, and Ronon had already resolved the fact that many of those he'd come to think of as family were going to die in battle. If not the Olim, then the Shade, and if not the Shade, then whatever else this ancestral forsaken galaxy could throw at them.

And that's why he detested Dan. Dan fought for himself, he fought because he enjoyed the thrill of it. It made him doubly dangerous, to both their enemies, and to themselves.

_"This is Sam. Everyone regroup. I've tracked down the signal. It's about a kilometer away. We can make it in 10 minutes on foot."_

Ronon turned to Dan and silently motioned him into line. Just like Pegasus, Ronon was still Dan's superior and until Dan had the word "General" before his name, he would remain that way.

* * *

All together now, the conversation livened as they headed towards the weak signal on Sam's scanner.

"So Daredevil, you Olim got any teams like this that explore?"

Aleron shrugged, and continued to trudge along on the sandy banks. "Not like this. Typically we simply send recon craft out. The Astria Portas are reserved for supply trains and military use. Most of our people are content to live on our ships whether they be on the ground or in space. Exploration _isn't_ a big concern."

Sam raised an eyebrow and turned to Aleron. "Military? So you attack the Shade when they're on a planet, too?"

"Every Shade we kill keeps it from growing, and there's no better experience than actual combat."

Ronon grunted and said. "Exactly."

The group snickered softly and John continued. "It's not just the Shade either. I know you didn't want to tell me earlier, but it's important now. You think we'll run into anything hostile out here?"

Aleron turned to John and stared at him for a few seconds, ostensibly seeing whether he'd answer or not. Eventually he simply uttered. "It's unlikely you will run into more than just the Shade or the Insects. But you've only seen the small section of this galaxy which is where the Olim reside, The Shade are everywhere, but if you venture far you'll find more. There's a reason we don't do much exploring."

Now Sam was at full attention. Even as she walked forward, she asked, "We're on the other side of the galaxy from Atlantis Aleron. What might we run into?"

Alicia fought a smirk imagining Sam's face at Aleron mentioning dragons.

Instead, Aleron sighed and said. "Nothing you've not encountered. It's very rare to see more than the Shade or the insects. I simply don't know enough about the other races the Olim have encountered to give you an accurate assessment."

Dan, never one to miss a beat, chimed in. _"Other_ races_?"_

John had to admit, he'd missed that."Yeah, come on Ally, we're not gonna bite."

Aleron gave Alicia a blunt stare, obviously putting two and two together and getting five. Alicia merely gave him a sarcastically snide glare back. "I've only seen two, and even then it was from a long distance in space. Our contact with them has been very limited."

Sam now brought the group to a halt, the signal wasn't far off and if one looked closely as Ronon now did, one could make out a small cavern nearby. "You can tell us about them later. The signal's coming from the cavern down there." She turned to Aleron and narrowed her eyes. "I _trust _you'll tell us when we get back. It's important we know we can trust you."

The entire group now faced Aleron and the Olim realized just how alone in a group he really was. He gave each a look, and a different feeling came from each. John gave a silent support for Sam, Ronon remained unreadable, but not hostile. Alicia felt vindicated, and Dan just looked surprised.

Sighing, Aleron said,"Very well. Once this is over I'll tell you what I know."

John could see that the tension was rising, and not being a fan of it, he quipped. "Let's just get to this signal." He gave everyone a quick glance, telling them to drop the issue. Aleron was thankful that despite his outcast status, the Earthers were still willing to give him some benefit of doubt. It wasn't much, but at least they were _acting_ civil.

* * *

Once inside the cavern, Ronon took the strange place in at a glance. The cavern was another rust colored structure and he idly wondered if _this_ one would take off as wel, but there weren't airlock style doors though, so something told him this one would stay in the ground.

It was larger inside than it appeared outside, the first little passage leading to a large hall. Inside was a cavern, the walls of which were lined with plants. Ronon looked around and blunted, "Nice."

John turned to Ronon and chuckled."High praise."

Alicia was more daring, stepping forward and running her hands along the wall. "What the hell?"

John stepped over to where Alicia had pushed aside some of the plant life and said. "What is it?"

Shrugging, Alicia motioned with her head. "Try it. I can't feel it."

Wiping his hand over the plants as well, John was a little surprised that even though the plants were moving, he couldn't feel any real resistance. "The hell… Sam?"

Having watched the entire thing, Sam explained.. "It's semi-solid holography. The sensors in this room must pick up your movement and change the image simulating solidity. It's actually not that complicated but it would require some really accurate sensors…" Looking deeper into the cavern, Sam switched on her headlamp. "There's something in here and we need to find it."

The group fell into line, most silent as they turned on their lights and continued. Sam led the group with her scanner, following the signal which had proven quite elusive. They traveled down another passage, this time into a smaller room with a ladder down to an even deeper room. John led the way, slinging his rifle over his back. Then Sam, Ronon, Aleron, finally leaving Alicia and Dan. "Go ahead, I'll take the rear.

Dan gave Alicia a sly smirk, then silently nodded. Alicia instantly caught on and sarcastically muttered. "What is this fascination you have with my ass?"

Giving her a simple shrug as he rounded the hole and put his foot on the first rung, Dan said. "Blame my Y chromosome."

Alicia just rolled her eyes, and wished for a second that she could open up her suit to fart in his face… Hmm… maybe she _was_ hanging around Chuck too much.

* * *

As Alicia jumped off and landed on the ground, she was astonished by what she saw. Again, the room seemed much larger than it should be. Room was an understatement even, this was as big as the gardens in Atlantis! Just as fertile too as plants of a dozen different kinds blossomed and swayed in the non-existent wind. She was reminded of that horribly campy chocolate factory movie they'd seen last Christmas.

Alicia spotted Sam crouching and taking one flower in her hand; it was a pretty two-tone flower, with a deep blue center surrounded by red petals. Alicia was a little surprised when it came out just like the real thing.

That's when she realized that this _was_ the real thing. This garden, with its small waterfalls, the stone statues of men and women she didn't know. If anything, this could have been some Ancient recreation of Eden.

Sam turned to the group who'd dispersed a bit and looked around. "It's real. The plants, the water… it's all real. This place must have some kind of automation for it to have lasted this long… however long that is." She noticed something in the back, a large obelisk that was covered with ancient writing. Turning to Aleron, Sam motioned with her hand. "Ever seen something like that?"

To her surprise, Dan replied in Aleron's stead. "Yeah, looks like that monument on Centaurus. Just… better."

Aleron grunted softly and examined the Obelisk as Sam began to work on her wrist computer interface. "It's likely as old as that one, if not older. The symbols are… _different._ It's Alteran but a much more ornate version." He ran a hand along the Obelisk as well, now sighing as he read the symbols. "It's gibberish, a mishmash of useless words."

Sam sighed and turned to John who was at the lead of the other three. "This might take awhile. Might as well get comfortable."

John sighed softly and figured that if he was going to sit around, he may as well enjoy it. "Great… good thing I packed a deck of cards." Sam's irritated glare confused him, was she disapproving or just annoyed that she couldn't play?

* * *

Alicia used her foot to smack Dan on the leg. "Got any fours?"

Dan didn't even bother to look at his cards."Go fish."

Reaching down and snatching a card, Alicia smiled as she ironically picked up a four. She set the pair down face up in front of her on the grass and looked across at John. "Even a deck of cards is nicer to me than he is. I should just give up and have an imaginary friend. I'll probably call her _Danielle._"

With the four of them sitting on the grass, now on their third game of cards which had included John winning a game of Texas Hold 'em, and to no one's surprise, Ronon winning a game of Snap, Go fish seemed like a nice cool down game. Sam and Aleron continued translating the obelisk and working out exactly where the signal had come from, and why it was so important.

Dan scoffed and scratched his chin. They'd taken their helmets off and unzipped their suits in the warm environment. It was strange to feel so refreshed in a cave. "Please, if you call anything by name it's the box under your bed."

Alicia to her credit just rolled her eyes and chuckled. John smiled just slightly. He knew that Alicia had been warming up to the idea of command and the playful teasing helped to ease tensions. He also noted that Ronon didn't seem amused. "Kinda reminds me of when Chuck asked Chewie here if he had a name for his gun." He looked over at Ronon and gave a devious grin. "What'd he suggest? Vera?"

Ronon grunted once, but the edge of a smile on his face was heartening. "Never gave it a name. Not gonna give it one now." He stared harshly at Dan and hissed. "Your turn."

Dan didn't back down, but he didn't reprise the hostility. Dan looked at John and asked."Got any aces?"

John smiled, and said. "I've got two ace pins back home, but you'll have to settle for this one." John flicked his ace over to Dan who grinned as he now took the lead.

John continued the game and asked Alicia for any sevens. She had one and was annoyed that she was running out of cards and didn't have many pairs. John yawned softly. He enjoyed relaxation but there was only so much before he wanted some excitement.

The game continued and quickly ended, all four players now getting up to stretch their legs. John and Ronon decided to head back up to the surface to take a look and see how late it was getting in the planetary day. Alicia decided to check out the little streams and dragged Dan along for a look-see.

John and Ronon quickly donned their suits and climbingthe ladder that brought them there, were back in the desolate and dry atmosphere of the planet that stood in such stark contrast. John felt strange now, he'd noticed Ronon's demeanor and wanted to find out what was going on. Given that according to the council and their newly established leadership, Ronon outranked him, it felt _very_ strange to try this now. "Ronon… what's up with Drake?"

Ronon turned in his helmet towards John, and simply uttered. "I don't like him."

Blunt as always. "I can _tell_. Any specifics?"

"Just don't like him. I like the way he shoots, just not _him_."

John shrugged. "Well, you're not the only one, but something's up yer butt. What is it?"

Ronon shrugged back and explained. "Some of the recruits are trying to act like him. Breaks down teamwork. You need to _trust_ your team, otherwise you die."

Sighing, John nodded. "Yeah, I've seen that actually." He snorted. "Not jealous are we?" Seeing Ronon's death glare, John quickly added. "We'll deal with it as it comes up. You've been doing a great job training them but once they get broken up into teams we need to make sure they stay together. I'll make sure he's not involved." Turning back to the cavern, John motioned. "Come on. Let's take a look around and head back. Don't want Sam and Ally discovering the meaning of life without us."

Contrary to his stiff attitude, Ronon snorted. "I figured that out already and the Ancestors have nothing to do with it."

Simply shaking his head, John realized that Ronon had changed more than he'd assumed. Part of him liked that Ronon was more in touch with his mortality and presence, but a part missed the easy going Ronon. "Oh? What'd you find out?"

Looking at John, Ronon smiled. "Love, Protect, Enjoy."

Silent for a few moments, John realized that maybe Ronon's change _had_ been for the better.

* * *

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**A/n:** Many thanks to Super-N-Gaspard who pointed out a small canonicity issue. My palm smacked my forehead on that one.**  
**


	3. Chapter 3

"So, boss, what'll ya bet we'll find?"

Alicia turned to Dan with an incredulous face. "Boss? You've _never_ called me that before."

Sighing, Dan got up from his crouching position where he'd pocketed a few shiny rocks from the stream and said."Well, you _are_ my boss aren't you? Leader of Atlantis Recon-One? Only Sheppard and Carter higher than you?"

Alicia scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. "Like any of that makes a difference. You hardly listen to me anyways. I've just learned to put up with you since I'm _not_ going to waste time trying to get a Traveler or Settler used to how SG-teams work. Not when they've had no _real_ military training." Alicia turned over a medium sized rock and found that underneath it was something akin to a worm. It squirmed away from both her and the water beside it. "I'd rather deal with keeping _you_ out of my pants then some liberal Traveler who can't shoot straight, can't take orders, and walks _towards_ the dangerous light rather than taking cover."

Dan raised his eyebrows at the odd comment, and sat down on a large boulder now obviously wanting to talk. "Not denying I want in your pants, but what do you mean 'liberal Travelers'?"

Alicia could see that Dan was willing to talk about it, so she turned and leaned back against the cave wall. "I mean I'm not into the whole sex without commitment thing. I'm not saying it's evil or wrong, it's just something I don't agree with. I'd much rather have a long term relationship with someone I can trust."

With his eyebrows still raised, Dan stroked his chin pensitively again. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'd have thought you'd figured that out by now."

Grunting in amusement, Dan rolled his eyes as he said, "Sorry, I was too busy kissing your ass to notice." Alicia snickered at the reference, and Dan continued. "Nah, but I getcha. Granted I'm loving how the Travelers do, but I can respect that. I don't want that commitment. Not something I want for myself and I sure as hell don't wanna hurt someone else with that."

Lowering her voice, Alicia sighed. "That's why I can respect you, too. You might be an asshole but at least you're honest about it." Alicia smirked again. "That's why I'm okay having you on my team despite you having an unhealthy obsession with my reproductive organs."

Never one to back down, Dan chuckled. "Oh? Would you prefer I have an unhealthy obsession with another part of you? Maybe your digestive system?"

Alicia grimaced. "Eugh, okay. You can keep talking about my ass. Just stop staring so obviously."

* * *

"That's it right there. I'm positive." Aleron pointed at the large button-like pad on the side of the Obelisk that glowed eerily.

Sam raised a single eyebrow at how Aleron seemed so utterly confident. "You know, I know you've been watching Earth movies to get an idea of our culture and I'm pretty sure you'll get why I'm nervous to push that button."

Turning to Sam, Aleron guessed, "Red means bad?"

"Exactly."

Aleron huffed through his nose and pointed directly at the glowing button. "If this button causes some kind of self-destruct sequence, I'll agree to that ridiculous truth or dare game again."

"What?" Sam was confused, what was Aleron talking about? "Truth or dare? What does _that_ have to do with anything? That button as far as I can tell means 'activate' but we have no idea _what_ it activates. For all we know it'll activate the defensive systems of this place and we're going to find ourselves in a fight."

"With a Dragon?"

Sam lost the humor on her face and stared back blankly. "You have _no_ idea."

Relenting, Aleron drew his hand back and crossed his arms defiantly. "Then what should we do then, hmm? Perhaps bring some automated machine to do the honors?"

Sam rolled her eyes and clicked her radio."This is Sam, everyone come back. We're about to try something and I want us all together."

Both Sam and Aleron stood quietly as the others came back, John and Ronon were dusty from the outside, while Alicia and Dan seemed quite relaxed and ready. Sam nodded to them all as a group and explained. "We think we've figured it out. It's some kind of test. We're going to turn it on and _hopefully_ it won't bring the house down on us."

John smirked and deadpanned. "That's good. Because I wouldn't want a building falling on me."

Alicia snickered too. "Yeah, getting killed isn't something I'd like to do."

Sam rolled her eyes once more, and then turned to Aleron. "See? Reinforcements. Now everyone be ready. There's no telling what might happen."

Everyone locked and loaded. As a group, they all stood back from the obelisk as Sam flexed her arms preparing to activate it. Unsurprisingly to them all, John stayed a bit closer keeping a close eye but saying nothing.

Sam reached out and depressed the symbol which glowed an eerie red. As it pushed in, the color switched to blue, and a moment later, the ground next to the obelisk shifted and revealed a trap door. Sam peeked in, and quickly backed off as an array of what looked like complex flashlights appeared. It only took a moment for them to lock into position, and the light that emitted from them focused into a hologram.

It was a distorted image of a man, the corrupted lines scrolling across the image gave him a grotesque appearance and the voice he had was equally corrupted. It spoke in a Latinesque language filled with eloquence despite the strange manner he spoke in as well as the peculiar body movements.

Aleron stepped forward and stood next to Sam examining the hologram. "He's speaking Alterran. But…he's not making much sense."

"Is it the corruption? I might be able to fix it with some time."

"No." Aleron shook his head. "It's the words themselves. Literally he's saying…" waiting a moment for the hologram to repeat itself, Aleron translated as he heard. "To find the way, you must light and show the words of wisdom."

Alicia and John had come up as well, with Dan and Ronon watching their six for any potential danger. Alicia quipped, "This isn't any more of that candle stuff Dr. Jackson and General O'Neill were talking about back in the SGC was it?"

Sam stopped for a second to remember Jack, and then replied. "Maybe. It does sound like something the Ancients might say. I'm guessing it's a riddle of some kind. Maybe we have to figure out some Alterran wisdom and light it up using the symbols on the obelisk."

To everyone's surprise, Dan now joined the conversation. "What? No offense, Ma'am, but whoever that is, he's being a jackass."

Sam did a double take at Dan's words, the way he slouched and almost derisively looked at the hologram didn't help his case. John turned his head and muttered. "And exactly how would _you_ know? You learnin' Ancient on your off time?"

Dan shook his head."Nah, but look at him. He's shiesty. You can tell from his tone and that stance he's got. Whatever he's saying, he doesn't think we get it."

Obviously not impressed with Dan's observation, Alicia sighed. "Kinda like you… _all the time?"_

Before it could go any further. Aleron held his hand up. "Wait… Drake is right. That's why he sounds so strange. He's being _sarcastic_." Aleron chuckled and shook his head. "I never would have caught that on my own. I've always known the Alterra to be very straight forward."

"They're the Ancestors…" Ronon grunted and joined the group. "…we're the _descendants_, makes sense we're alike." Like it or not, Ronon grudgingly agreed with Dan's conclusion. "What'd he say? Light the way? Words of Wisdom?"

"To find the way, you must light and show the words of wisdom." Aleron repeated. "Given his tone, I guess we should find the words of wisdom on the Obelisk."

Sam nodded in agreement, and began to circle the Obelisk searching. Since only she and Aleron had any real knowledge of the Alterran language, the others merely stood guard.

One by one the words were found, and before anyone knew it. Sam reached up and said. "This is it, words, of, wisdom." She depressed the button signaling wisdom, and the repeating voice of the hologram ended. The Holographic man then started chuckling and spoke to everyone's surprise in English as the corruption cleared. "Well done, you have passed the test of language. Follow our light and prove your intellect. We await your arrival."

Nobody could say anything as the hologram disappeared and the Obelisk opened up at the top revealing a transmitter. It pulsated and soon after a strange buzzing feeling crossed the team. It was quickly over, and Sam realized what had happened.

They were on more than just a recon mission. this was a test devised by the Alterra to prove who was worthy enough to meet them. That meant that it was perfectly possible that living Alterrans were in this galaxy… and if they could pass all the tests, Atlantis could meet them.

* * *

"A quest?" Sam gave Daniel a harsh glance and Daniel held his hands up in defense. "Sorry, but you have to admit, it does seem like an appropriate term."

Sitting in the conference room with John, Aleron, Teyla, Nevas and Daniel, Sam sighed as she explained what she had begun to understand. "It's a _test_. There may very well be living Alterrans in this galaxy, but given how _dangerous_ this galaxy is, they only want people who'd be able to think on their level and understand certain things to be able to find them.

Nevas leaned forward on his seat and sighed. "I don't like where this is going. These _aren't_ our ancestors. Who knows what kind of patches they want you to do."

Teyla turned to Nevas with a confused face. "Patches? Pardon?"

Nevas winced and smacked his forehead."Patches, fixes, quick stuff you fix. Sorry, just something we say."

"He means what kind of tests we'll be forced to solve, Teyla." Daniel surmised. "They do love their tests. Must be something about being an advanced race that makes you arrogant."

Aleron visibly tightened his features. "Culture has little to do with facts. The Alterra want to make sure that only those who could understand them as real beings and not gods were to meet them."

"I thought the Olim _did_ see the Alterra as gods?"

Daniel turned to Teyla's question and shook his head."No. It's complicated, but the Olim do _not_ think the Alterra are 'gods'. Just…_better._" Daniel left it at that, now looking to Aleron who seemed appeased.

John tapped his fingers on the table and said, "Listen, Alterra, Ancient, Lantean or little naked aliens, they've got some high-end tech that could come in handy. What was it you said Jackson? The database from Lucy _says_ that the Ancients who were here made it back to the Milky Way?"

Daniel nodded. "Terra specifically, which is Earth."

"So that settles it. If whatever we find at the end of this gives us a way back to Earth…"

Sam found herself looking at Aleron, his expression had hardened and there was clearly a strong sense of animosity. She only knew from having spent some time getting to know the young man. "It's likely that they went through the Stargates. I doubt we'd be able to take Atlantis back with us unless we could repair the Wormhole Drive." She added nothing about Radek's research into multi-galactic wormhole technology.

Nevas summed it up. "So basically you're saying that there's no way this can turn out badly? Either we find the Ancestors here, or we find something they left behind?"

Sam nodded. "If you want to think of it that simply, yes. We've got the coordinates to the next planet from the DHD on the first world. Who knows? We might find what we're looking for there. The first planet's clear so I'd recommend sending Rafaela with a team to recover the Obelisk. It might prove useful."

Daniel shifted in his seat and nodded. "Alright, I'll take it up with the council right away but I can tell you that I'm supporting this. I'd love to go myself but…" Daniel shrugged his shoulders, "…you know."

With both Teyla and Nevas now giving a bashful Daniel stony glares, Sam had to check her snicker.

* * *

John smiled as he looked at the information the Traveler Probe they'd just sent through the 'gate sent back. "70 percent humidity, breathable air and…"

Looking into her own display, Alicia smiled. "…Beaches as far as the eye can see." She had a wide grin as she turned to the person next to her. "Reminds me of Miami." As Alicia turned though, she realized that she'd just spoken to Sam. "_Uhh…_ Ma'am."

Sam for that matter silently chuckled. "At ease, Vega. I like the beach too." She blew a long sigh and motioned to John. "After you."

Looking at the open wormhole in front of him, John shrugged and took a deep breath of the Atlantis reprocessed air, and walked through. The typical non-sensation of going through the 'gate passed and he was suddenly awash with a comfortable heat and smell of sandy beaches. The white sand and green trees around the side of the beach located gate were completely overridden by the size of the pristine blue ocean next to them. They couldn't see any other land other then the apparent island they were on.

John turned and watched as his team filed through one by one. they were all appreciative of the comfortable environment except for Aleron who immediately wiped his brow.

"Yeah I know, Doritos have lots of calories, just keep your suit on, it'll help with the heat."

Aleron rolled his eye and fanned himself with his right hand, his weapons slung around him bouncing softly. The others around him were curious, but didn't ask about the in-joke.

Sam moved ahead and used her wrist computer to begin to track the signal. "Doesn't look like it's that far, maybe half a klick?"

John shrugged and made a joking point forward. "Charge."

Nobody laughed, and the six person team began to trudge along. The light uncompressed sand made a horrible surface to walk on in boots, and Alicia complained loudly not even ten seconds in. "Oh, for the love of…!" she reoriented herself and shook the pain from her nearly twisted ankle. "I don't suppose I can request some kind of armored flip-flops, can I?"

Sam chuckled and shook her head."That kinda defeats the purpose." Sam herself stumbled for a moment and huffed. "I get what you mean though. I'll put Rafaela on it as soon as we get home." She checked her wrist computer again and moved ahead a bit more leaving her team behind slightly.

Ronon turned to them both as he walked without an issue and said. "Flip-flops? What are those?"

"They're cheap little shoes that cost _way_ more than they're worth." Dan chuckled. "Nice for the beach, but pretty useless anywhere else."

Aleron didn't engage in the discussion, he was obviously uninterested. John turned and walked backwards along the top edge of the beach and smirked at Dan. "What? You don't like the beach?"

Dan shrugged and smiled deviously. "I like the view, but I hate sand."

"Sand is the worst place to fight, easy to track, hard to move, hard to hide." Ronon then gave his own devious smirk back to John. "Swimming and beaches are different. You can have one without the other."

Given that all four Earthborn had fought on sandy battlefields – though none as annoying as this - no one disagreed. Aleron had something to say though. "I don't know what this whole diversion aspect of your culture is about. Wouldn't it be more prudent to spend that time bettering oneself?"

Alicia snorted as they now turned inland, and shook her head. "All work and no play makes the Olim a really dull people." She turned to Aleron and continued. "I can hardly believe you've even got music. You're like those crazy evangelist cults."

"Alicia." John's voice had the barest edge of rebuke.

Straightening, Alicia gave John a slightly defiant look, but relented. "It's true though, isn't it?" She stared at Aleron.

Taking a moment to think, Aleron summed it up. "I see no need to waste my time on something that won't build my skills or is productive."

Narrowing her eyes, Alicia quipped. "What about Truth or Dare? And that little flute you've got?"

Seeing that a fight was likely to break out, John motioned slightly to Ronon and both moved to break them up. "Now, now, we can talk about this culture stuff later. I'm sure Jackson would _love_ to hear about this so drop it for now."

Both Alicia and Aleron hesitated, but nodded. Dan stood to the side, glad to be on solid ground and mused, "Anyone wanna bet on who'd win in a fight? We can use the VR trainers. Daredevil's got my vote."

Ronon to everyone's surprise laughed. "Me too."

Alicia grit her teeth, but seeing John give her a harsh glance, kept her mouth shut. John shrugged and motioned with his head for them to speed up. "I'll ref it but come on! Sam's almost out of sight. Let's move."

No one said anything, and they sped up.

* * *

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**A/N:** Again, thanks to Super-N-Gaspard for catching a mistake. Seems we read similar things ;)**  
**


	4. Chapter 4

Sam wasn't too surprised to find another Obelisk, but _was_ a little surprised to see a large pair of holographic emitters built into some large boulders to the side. Even more, there was some kind of interface in front of the obelisk.

She turned, and saw the team finally catching up. "Take a look. It's another test of some kind."

Without hesitation, Aleron moved forward and joined Sam. "Shall we get started?"

John furrowed his brow, the large clearing around them didn't feel right. The trees were all cut at a specific distance away, and little else but grass grew around the obelisk. It was much larger as well, standing fifteen feet in the air with a strange rod on either side of it from his position. It looked like some kind of shrine.

Sam and Aleron moved forward and began to work, a quick glance and nod from Sam told John all he needed to know. "Alright, give em a few minutes then we'll spread out and look around. Any luck and I can find a nice place for a hammock."

Alicia smiled and sighed. "I might just join you."

* * *

Ronon held the flat rock he'd found, and taking careful aim flung it out into the ocean skipping it like a bullet. Alicia sat on the beach watching the waves, having unzipped the top half of her suit. John and Dan were off to the side exploring around the edge of the island, ostensibly looking for threats. Alicia took in a deep breath of the fresh air and smiled. "I could get used to this place."

Ronon grunted, and searched around for another rock to throw. "It's nice, but too wet. Dry heat's better."

Wiping some sweat away from her brow, Alicia let her hair free of the ponytail and leaned back to let the sun wash over her. "I grew up like this. Wish I'd brought some sunscreen and a swimsuit."

"Sateda had some beaches, never really had time to go." Ronon finally found another rock and whipped it mercilessly at the water. It skipped beyond Alicia's view, and she oddly wondered how strong Ronon actually was. "So you miss Earth?"

Alicia shrugged and put the visor helmet on to protect her eyes from the sun. "Yeah… I think we all do. It's hard to lose your home." She smiled realizing that Ronon knew damn well what she meant. "I heard that some Satedans were in the group of Settlers; have you talked to them?"

Ronon stayed silent for a few moments, but he answered eventually after finding another rock. "Yeah, they're working with Teyla. Most joined up, only a few had training before though."

Seeing that he wasn't saying much else about it, Alicia decided to keep her thoughts to herself. Ronon had changed over time, but truthfully they all had. "What do you miss the most about Pegasus?"

Ronon checked himself before he answered. The quickest thing that came to mind was the Wraith, but he decided he missed something else just as much. "McKay."

Alicia only knew of Doctor McKay peripherally, but she could tell Ronon did indeed miss him. "I can imagine. You guys worked together for a long time."

Ronon stopped flinging rocks, and idly rubbed his shoulder leading up to his back. "Yeah, pain in the ass, but he got the job done." Watching Ronon carefully, Alicia was caught off guard when Ronon asked. "What do you miss from Earth?"

"Uhh…" Having to think for a moment, there were so many things that Alicia could say. She again fell back on her instincts. "Well other than underwear that doesn't chafe, I guess I'd have to say… Pupusas."

"Poo-poos ass?" Ronon's face turned to a horrified yet very confused look. "That's uhh… sorry?"

Alicia chuckled, it'd been awhile since she'd actually spoken Spanish and it always threw people off. "It's a food. It's kinda like a Spanish sandwich. Except it's usually fried and has meat, beans, even cheese thrown in. My mom used to make them all the time."

Ronon snorted softly and nodded. "Sounds like my kinda food."

Alicia grinned, Ronon may have changed, but at least he was still friendly.

* * *

"So whaddya think we'll find out here, sir?"

John trudged along the edge of the beach. He'd give anything to just strip to his shorts and go for a swim, but logic told him that getting bitten by an alien seafaring creature wasn't something to be desired. He turned to Dan who'd kept his helmet on maintaining his temperature in the airtight environment suit. "Dunno, that's the fun of this." John sighed and bent down, something was in the sand and he couldn't make it out clearly. "You?"

Dan shrugged and used the computerized scope on his Gauss Rifle to look out towards the ocean. "More Ancient mumbo jumbo. Same as always." He sighed and slung his rifle around his back again. "I'm just a grunt, point at something that needs to die and I'll kill it. Tell me something needs to get built or blown out of the way and it's done. I can't stand all this technobabble."

John smiled, he'd once thought the same. "I dunno, it kinda grows on you after awhile." He spotted Dan's smirk and pointed a finger at him. "And I'm _not_ saying that because of Sam. That's off-limits."

Dan realized that John was serious and lost the cheeky grin. "That's fine. I don't pry into stuff like that anyway. I just get bored when all I hear is "thermodynamic" this or "ultimatium" that. I think that last cool thing I heard from Doctor Z was some experimenting with Naquadah explosive bullets."

John decided to get a little teasing of his own in, and shrugged. "Yeah, he says it's hard to make something like that explode when we _want_ it to, not _in_ the gun…" Smirking just as deviously, he quipped. "Sure it was Radek? A little birdie told me something about Esposito."

Dan froze, he slowly turned towards Sheppard and kept his voice civil, but only just. "Well _sir, _like you said. That's off-limits."

Smiling to himself that his subordinate wasn't as unshakeable as he'd made himself out to be, John nodded. "Fair enough."

_"Carter to Team, come on back. We're done here."_

John raised his eyebrows in surprise as he tapped his radio on. "Already? It's been ten minutes."

_"I know, turns out this test was a lot easier. Don't ask. It's mathematical."_

Dan chuckled. "Guess you were right, geeks do grow on you."

John rolled his eyes and sighed dejectedly. "Fine, everyone regroup at the 'gate. I'm guessing there's some other test or something we'll have to do?"

_"We have another address, whether it's a test or not I don't know. They wanted Heisenberg for this one though so there's no telling what they'll want for the ne - What the…?"_ Sam's voice cut out for a second, and then the sound of gunfire echoed through the trees and radio. _"Contact! They're coming out of the trees! Get to the 'gate now now now!"_

As Sam screamed into the radio, John heard a strange buzzing noise come from the trees. He racked the first round into his SCAR and motioned to Dan while aiming up. "Fall back! Go!"

Dan had already drawn his Gauss Rifle, and began a backpedaling grasshopper retreat. "The hell is that!"

John got to the next position where he spun and aimed out, waiting for Drake to fall back as well. "Buzzing means bad! Just run!"

As Drake passed by him, John spotted what was making the noise. They were large, they were flopping in the air… they were -

Mosquitoes?

_"They're coming from inland! Aim high!"_

John did as Ronon told him and held down the trigger.

* * *

Alicia had barely had time to zip up. She was just about to take her suit off and go for a swim since she didn't really care if Ronon saw her in her black underwear, but now was giving thanks for such a complicated armor. "I see them! Aim high!" She let loose a burst from her rifle as Ronon did the same with his Gauss Rifle.

The Mosquitoes fell in groups, each shot penetrating and damaging others behind it. There were just _so many_ that Alicia though that even if they taped this with HD cameras they wouldn't be able to count them all. Besides, Mosquitoes squicked her out and these were the size of seagulls!

Sam and Aleron came in running backwards from the woods nearby, the constant sonic booms from her semi-automatic Gauss Rifle and Aleron's Particle Rifle gave a strange backdrop to the battle. The Stargate spun around one last time and finally locked onto Atlantis' address. Alicia screamed into her radio. "Atlantis! This is Vega, drop the shield! We're coming in hot!"

Laura's pleasant voice came through; Chuck must have been off causing humorous havoc. _"Got it. Shield's down. Security team on the way."_

Alicia took aim again. these mosquito things were _disgusting_ and all ideas of starting a resort here with John flew out the window. "Bug spray! Need _lots_ of bug spray!" She didn't hear Laura's reply as Ronon's Gauss Rifle cracked again drowning out all sound around them.

* * *

Sam was highly impressed with the Gauss Rifle's utility. The shockwave of the sonic boom the Trinium slug created may not have been lethal, but it disoriented the flying bugs after them like smoke to bees. Firing another shot, at least twelve began to spin around erratically,

Where had they _come_ from? Was it possible that this was another Outpost Zeta Twelve and the Stargate activated some kind of defensive signal? But the Stargate was active, that couldn't have been it. That left only one possibility and she wasn't exactly pleased with it.

Aleron was like watching combat in art. She'd read Reyna and Carson's report on how the Olim had a much faster reaction time and awareness. Seeing him pick off small bird sized targets from forty feet away with a slow moving particle rifle - especially since he only had one eye - was quite impressive.

She wondered how good at skeet shooting he'd be. "Come on!"

Now back on the beach, Sam saw John and Dan lay suppressive fire for them. John screamed as he emptied his clip into the mass behind them. "Move it, move it!"

Sam did; but even as she did, she wondered about how this had gone down. She'd just finished the puzzle, it was a simple visual representation of Heisenberg's Law, and after a few moment's thought, she realized that the puzzle was asking to solve it. Certainly a difficult task for a non-SGC scientist, but the Asgard had long ago figured it out.

Aleron hadn't understood it at all. The Olim hadn't worked out matter transmission or even how to accurately scan to that degree. He'd been completely lost as Sam easily figured it out and input the equations needed to solve the puzzle.

It wasn't even that hard of an equation. it just involved using a high intensity gravity field to force the target to a specific point thereby negating the need to actually measure its place and speed. That's why the Asgard transporter beams gave off a huge flash. the gravity involved was on the level of a black hole and scattered light.

Of course she wasn't about to _tell_ anyone but another scientist that that's how it worked. It was sort of an in-joke with the SGC and Area 51 to never tell the grunts that their bodies were being obliterated and reformed. It just didn't feel right. Aleron had seemed quiet though, a contrast to his friendly nature earlier that day.

Running up to the beach where the 'gate was now in sight, Sam spun and fired off another shot. The shockwave blunted the swarm, but only for a moment.

As soon as she'd input the correct algorithms and hit the ancient equivalent of "enter" the holograms faded away and a voice had said something about solving the test of knowledge and to follow the light to find the test of resolve. Aleron had stared at the hologram for a moment and had been ready to ask questions.

That'd have to wait for now though as being bug chow was _not_ on her list of things to do today.

* * *

Teyla had been sitting in the control room, bored as was usual now. She wished she could go through the ring again, be a part of the team, but she had responsibilities now. She'd made her choice when she'd allowed herself to get so close to Kanaan, and later Daniel. Now she had responsibilities to a lot of people, the last remnants of Pegasus. It would be selfish and unbecoming of her to abandon them to someone without her experience.

Not that her leadership role wasn't important either, often she would be the one to mediate disputes between the Settlers, and with her experience in the city she was the one they looked up to the most. Even Alrich had started to relent to her decisions, decisions which benefited everyone equally.

With the frantic cry from Alicia over the radio though, Teyla had quickly grabbed a particle magnum from the storage locker nearby and joined the security team in awaiting John's team. She used the pillar at the top as cover and leaned out with a perfect vantage point on the gate.

Drake and Sam were the first through, both backwards with their weapons raised. The moved to the side but kept their weapons up. Next came Ronon and Aleron, both aiming up as well. Finally, John and Alicia came through front first, with some strange creature on John's back. _"Get-it-off-get-it-off!"_

Teyla calmly aimed as John shook about, Alicia tried to thwack the creature off but missed as the shield on the 'gate came back online, and impacts were heard. Teyla finally got a good sight, and without hesitation fired.

The red particle shot flew out and nailed the large creature in its center mass flinging it back. The smell of burnt and cooked meat lingered in the air, making the security team grimace in disgust. Teyla quickly ran down, seeing the entire team jittery and still full of adrenaline. "What happened? Was it dragons?"

John's glare at Teyla as he panted and caught his breath told her that the quip wouldn't go unpunished.

* * *

These were the moments Daniel detested. Being the "Prime Minister" was basically a glorified mediator. He had no _real_ power. All he did was present the evidence, give his opinion, and let the council decide for themselves. A trained monkey could have done the same. At least it gave him time to delve into the Ancient Database and coordinate with Chuck to get it 'dumbed down' for the masses if they ever made it back to Earth.

Sitting in the mess hall with John and Ronon across from him, there was by _far_ a certain feeling of being left out. "So Ronon, do you think we stand a chance of recovering that Ancient Obelisk Sam mentioned in her report?"

Ronon shrugged and took a hearty bite out of something that resembled a chicken leg, except was three times larger. "We'd need lots of bug spray."

John used his knife to pick his teeth, and chuckled at Ronon's quip. "That thing nearly gave me another hole Jackson. Carson's doing an autopsy now so we'll find out if its worth it." He sheathed his knife, and took another sip of his coffee. "Did Esposito's team make it back?"

Daniel nodded. "They've been in contact. There really wasn't anything at that first obelisk that we don't already have here in Atlantis. She says its basically salvaging spare parts in case we ever need to repair stuff."

Shrugging, John nodded and set his cup down. "Better than nothing I suppose…." He looked at Daniel who seemed a bit worried. "What do _you_ think we'll find?"

Daniel sighed and shook his head. "With the Ancients, who knows? It could be one of those 'mysteries of life' things, or it could be a diner that sells pancakes." Seeing John's confused look, Daniel pushed on. "The point is, we don't know. And the only way we'll know if it's useful or not is by finding out."

Blinking a few times at the odd phrasing, John quipped. "You wanna come with? I'm sure Teyla'd wanna come too."

"Don't think I haven't considered it." Daniel visibly deflated. "I've got too much to do here. If I'm not in the council meetings, I'm holding seminars and teaching about the Ancients. Apparently, someone found out I'd been ascended and…" Groaning, Daniel waved it off. "It doesn't matter."

John furrowed his brow in confusion. "Uh… what doesn't matter? Ascended? What does that have to do with anything?"

Ronon chuckled softly as he swallowed. "He's got a cult. Jackson Worshippers."

John tried, he _really_ did, but the snickers and stifled laughs still came out. He couldn't _wait_ to tell Sam.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

"Probe ready, wormhole is stable…" Laura keyed in the launch sequence for the Traveler Probe. "Fire in the hole!"

In the Gate Room, the drone-sized probe rose into the air as its small ion engine received power and drifted into the Stargate's event horizon leaving a trail of ionized air hissing.

The team moved into position after a few moments, sans Ronon who'd decided to stay behind and upgrade the VR trainer with his actual combat experience with the Gauss Rifle. The five-person team began to receive the telemetry the probe sent back.

Daniel was with Teyla and Nevas watching as well. The probes images cleared, revealing a desolate wasteland. Teyla winced slightly at the level of devastation. "It looks like outside. Do you think the same thing might have happened?"

Nevas checked the sensor readings and his exasperated sigh told as much as his words. "I'm getting a radiation spike. Definitely nukes. That place is bombed out."

Not one to remain silent, Daniel pointed to one of the readings. "We're still getting the signal from the Ancients. Whatever it is, it's still there. Maybe it was put there _after_ the fallout. Sam and Aleron _did_ say it would be a test of 'resolve'." Looking down, he could see that the entire team had made the same conclusion as he and looked up at him. Even through their clear Plexiglas visors, it was plain to see they were determined. "I'd sure need some resolve to go to a nuclear wasteland."

* * *

"Madre de Dios…" Alicia was flabbergasted. The view was one of the most spectacular, and bone chilling she'd ever seen. "How many people do you think lived here?"

Sam continued her readings, looking out to the ruined and desolate wasteland with high rise buildings broken and torn apart, along with what remained of a highway, the number in her head wasn't small. "It happened a long time ago, Vega. At _least_ a few thousand years. The type of radiation and level suggests a neutron barrage. Whoever did this _wanted_ to kill everyone." Seeing the nervousness, Sam added. "Don't worry, one of the main support features of our suits is Traveler Anti-Radiation technology. We'll be safe as long as we don't start eating or drinking the stuff around here."

With the entire team standing on the edge of a cliff face where the Stargate stood, the view of the shattered husks of concrete and steel buildings were a sobering sight. In the distance, a small twister spun around the lighter materials on the ground, scorching an already burnt ground. Vehicles akin to cars lay strewn about as if a giant had had a tantrum and flung them around.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

John sidled up to Sam and switched to a private frequency. "You okay?"

"Yeah… just never thought I'd see something like this."

"It's okay…happened a long time ago."

"I _know_ that… it's just… this could have been us, John. More times than you know."

"I know. Come on. let's find that signal. We don't need to see anymore of this."

"Actually…the signal's coming from inside the city." Sam turned to John and gave him a nervous grin. "I don't like it either but…" She nodded and began to move down the side of the cliff towards the city almost half a kilometer away.

John grit his teeth and turned back to the group. Alicia was still dumbfounded and Dan seemed disconcerted. But Aleron was in complete shock. "Ally, you recognize anything?" Aleron didn't respond. John moved over and waved a hand in front of his face. "Anyone home?"

Aleron flinched away from the tease and huffed."Stop that you…" He took another look at the devastation. "Those are _Alteran_ buildings. This must have been one of their colonies. It's much older than a few thousand years. We haven't built like this since…" the Olim sighed deeply "Since I can't even recall…"

Alicia turned her head to Aleron and quipped. "'We'? I though you said Alteran, not Olim."

"They're one in the same you _meretrix."_

"_Excuse me?"_ Alicia stepped forward and faced off with the Olim, Dan simply stepped back, wanting to avoid any backsplash. "I don't have a _clue_ what you just said to me, but you better smarten up if you…"

_"Vega!" _John's terse voice cut through the potential argument, John bowed his head down to Alicia intimidatingly. "Leave it alone, take point with Sam."

"But…" Seeing that John wasn't going to give her any ground, Alicia just huffed quietly and walked away.

Dan joined her, but before Aleron could move as well, John held him back with a soft thump on his chest. "What'd you call her?"

_"Meretrix."_ Aleron said it tactfully, but John could tell he was being snide.

"I _heard_. What does it mean?"

Aleron stared at John defiantly, and after a few moments, said. "It's an old dialect word. The closest translation would be whore."

John could feel his muscles tensing. Even more, he could tell that Aleron noticed his anger. "Do you _want_ her to shoot you?"

"It'd be more honorable than being your lapdog."

Holding him back again as he tried to move past, John now got a firm grip on Aleron's collar. "Now wait just a damn minute. Where the _hell_ is this coming from? If you've got a problem then you _say it_."

Aleron turned into John's grasp and snarled. "My _problem _is that I'm nothing but a pariah to you. You _pretend_ to be my friend and yet, you can't even control your subordinate without supervision." Shoving John's hand off his suit, Aleron finished. "Superficiality. There's a reason the Olim find you primates, you can't even see emotion beyond skin."

John was confused. "What?"

_"Uhh ,John? Aleron?"_

Sam's voice cut their argument short, much to John's dismay. Aleron retreated and shook his head idly. John had no choice but to respond."Yeah, just having a little _chat."_

_"Well, I could use Aleron's help. We found the Obelisk but I'm having trouble translating it." _Sam hesitated a second. _"Is everything alright? Vega looks kinda pissed off."_

"Everything's fine, Carter." Aleron interrupted John, his voice calm once more. "We'll be down in a minute."

John held his ground. something _really _didn't feel right and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. "What's the matter with you? If it's Vega then just tell me. I can't _be_ your friend if you won't talk."

Aleron sighed and shook his head. "You don't understand. You _can't_ understand. It doesn't matter… Let's just get this done."

Finally Aleron moved past John who just stood there for a moment staring at Aleron's back as he headed down towards the rest of the team. Confusion was an understatement.

* * *

Sam could see right away something had happened. The gears began to turn in her head and seeing how Aleron almost shoved her aside and began to read the obelisk, she had an udea. Silently, she sidled up to John again and switched to private channels. "What's his problem?"

John was a little too enraptured by his surroundings to listen. The Obelisk stood in the center of a large square, likely once housing many trees and gardens. The towers loomed above them creating a boxed in effect. There were also concrete slabs all over. the floor was littered with metal and stone and it was very strange to see the Obelisk's surrounding five foot radius clear of any debris. The entrance was a grand archway, Almost like the arch he knew was in Paris. It was surrounded by the large and destroyed buildings making a natural choke dull brown and desolate winds and dust only exemplified just how dead this place really was.

"John?"

He wasn't even sure there would be any life left on this planet. The probe had said the oxygen was limited, the kind of thing you'd feel on top of a mountain on Earth. This place didn't feel majestic like a summit though, it just felt _dead._

_"John!"_

Snapped back to reality.. John turned to Sam. _"What?"_

Sam gave him an annoyed glare, then motioned to Aleron who walked around the obelisk in puzzlement. "What happened? Vega and Drake weren't talking."

John sighed, and looked at the group around him. He'd thought Aleron was frosty. He was by his own words the equivalent of a Colonel in the Olim Armed Forces… how much of that was because of his father? Was the man really ready, or just another common grunt? "I don't know." He turned to Sam and shook his head. "I _really_ don't know."

Sam raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "He's been quiet since the beaches. I think he might have felt a little weird when I solved it so quickly. Keep an eye on him. We've got no idea what's bothering him and I'd rather be ready if he gets unstable."

John nodded and together they came to the conclusion to let the matter drop… _for now._ Sam silently moved back over to where Aleron was and began to point out. "See? There's three symbols that say activate. The rest reads just like the last two, just gibberish. Or at least gibberish right now."

Aleron shook his head, and also looked around the area. "No… there's something strange here. Why did this obelisk survive untouched while everything else is burnt and rotted?"

Dan shrugged and kicked over a small rock revealing more dirt underneath. "It's Ancient. They built shit to last."

Sam gave a small disapproving huff but didn't chide him. "It _is_ strange. The obelisk might not be as old as the city itself. It may have been installed after the fallout."

Aleron stared it for a few more moments, and then muttered. "_Resolve…"_ He sighed, and then turned to John. "It's a battle. Resolve has meaning in my culture. Resolve is one of the key words of Progenesis. The Olim have the _resolve_ to fight the Shade and retake this galaxy."

Alicia silently drew her rifle and played with the safety in her thumb. "Battle? You think there's gonna be a fight?"

John and Dan began to circle the area as well, keeping a careful eye making sure nothing was watching them. Aleron replied tactfully. "Perhaps. It _is_ odd that they would use that word. Unless…"

Sam had figured it out, and nodded as she also pulled her weapon out. "Unless it was meant to be found by the Olim."

It was a thought provoking moment, but Aleron remained silent. Deep down, Sam now realized that he was questioning his beliefs. From what she'd seen, the Olim wouldn't have passed even the first test, let alone solve Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. "Everyone, take cover positions."

John turned to Sam a bit alarmed. He didn't say anything but moved over to cover Sam. with his look, John asked if this was the best decision. Sam silently looked him back in the eyes and nodded.

That's all John needed. Whatever was coming, they'd handle it. He crouched by a broken rock that looked like it'd formerly been a part of the building nearby, looking at how they were positioned. Alicia held back with Sam, her scope giving her a great accuracy even at range. Aleron and Dan were covering each other a few feet ahead, Dan with the higher position and Aleron keeping low with his P90 at the ready.

John waited while Sam got to work. she clicked her squad com radio on. "Alright, I'm going to activate it. Be ready for anything."

Sam reached out and depressed the glowing activate button. It sunk into the obelisk and…nothing happened. She backpedaled a bit, prepared and braced for anything.

The obelisk opened up much like the other two had and some kind of transmitter appeared. It was different from the last ones though as it had several apparatus on it. One of them began to glow and a few seconds later, pulsed with a visible shockwave through the air.

It knocked Sam back enough for her to stumble, and John was there ready to catch her. When the shockwave hit him though, it felt like firing a drill next to his head.

The others felt something similar, but soon enough the disorientation passed. Alicia was the first to regain her senses, and she noticed something moving on the edge of the circular area they were in. "I see something!" She laid herself across a large rock, using her legs to stabilize her body. With a calming breath, she looked down her scope. _"Bugs!"_

Dan had recovered by now as well and he wasted no time getting a view. "Lots of em!"

John shook off the disorientation and raised his rifle. A mix of large beetle shaped bugs the size of dogs came out from seemingly nowhere, they frothed and snarled, at least twenty of them. Aleron had been right.

Sighting in on the closest, John put an accurate burst across its face splattering its greenish blood along the floor. "Open up!"

The crackle of fire resonated in the partially enclosed environment. If they'd been taken by surprise, the bugs would have presented some danger, but already in cover positions, and with a variety of weapons, the twenty odd creatures leaping up at them were quickly put down before they could even come close. It was almost anti-climactic as Dan got up and put a Gauss Rifle slug through the last beetle creature not five feet away.

When the smoke and dust cleared from their weapons fire, the remnants of the battle, what should have been twenty bug carcasses were gone. They had vanished without a trace. Dan turned over to Sam with a shrug. "I was about to say I got six of 'em, but I'm guessing they weren't actually real."

Sam had gotten six as well, the Gauss Rifle proving very effective with its accuracy, if a little slow with it's semi-automatic fire. "Something tells me that's not it. The next activate button just lit up." She let out a loud huff and nodded. "Reload and stay together. No telling what's coming next."

John clenched his teeth and looked to Aleron. "Actually, yeah, there might be." Aleron gave him a strange look back. "You've been holding out on us and I haven' t pushed 'cause it wasn't that important. If this thing is making us fight things in this galaxy, I want to know what we might be facing."

Aleron scoffed. "And I'd know that _how?"_

The others caught on and Alicia snarked. "You said you knew about other hostile races. _What_ races? Who are they? Do they have ships, guns?"

Sam pushed past and tried to be more tactful. "It's important, Aleron. There's no telling what that might make us face next."

Aleron ground his teeth for a moment and answered. "The Olim have seen seven races with technology beyond simplicity. Most simply avoided contact, but two were openly hostile. Neither are anywhere near this planet and we've never seen them on the ground."

The team wasn't reassured by Aleron's terse words. John waved it off and said, "Alright, but that doesn't change anything. Take your positions and get ready." John moved off to take his position at the front. Alicia now took up a sharpshooting position near him. Dan and Aleron pushed back a bit as well, using what cover was available. Sam pushed down the next button and again, a disorienting shockwave passed though them all, this one a fair amount stronger.

Sam shook it off as she stumbled around, and raised her Gauss Rifle up. She couldn't discern any targets, but didn't hold back. She took a crouching position between the two pairs and breathed steadily.

From the opposite end of the street, the already broken wall suddenly tore apart and shattered like a fragmentation grenade. From that opening, a horde of Shade spilled out. _"Sparkies!"_

Bugs were one thing, Shade were _much_ stronger. Sam aimed her Gauss Rifle and fired into the incoming mass. The Trinium slug shattered through the small Shade's torso, leaving a bloody mess of acid and razor sharp crystal shards spraying about.

It was only one of at least two dozen though, and with Dan picking off one more, and John and Alicia holding off another trio with their automatic rifles, the battle had truly been joined.

Aleron could see right away that their position was going to be overwhelmed, he'd fought the Shade so many times that he knew just holding ground against them was futile. With only a P90, he wasn't sure if he could take down even a Sparky.

Leaping over the low cover, he reloaded the P90 and began to draw them away from the main group with potshots. Splitting the Shade into two would give them more time to put them down, and even give them some room to maneuver.

The others had gotten the idea as well, and quickly the entire group scattered. John fell straight back to assist Sam's slow firing weapon, firing his rifle on full auto and burning through his clip. Sam covered him as she fired her twentieth shot, the Gauss Rifle now audibly hissing as the Naquadria generator produced enough power to launch the Trinium slug at a kill velocity.

Alicia moved off on her own, keeping away from the melee, but not losing her sighting. Dan was going instinctual, and instead of falling back, he stood his ground and fired as fast as the Gauss Rifle's capacitor could recharge. Aleron unloaded the last of his P90 clips and switched his suit's strength mode on, dodging an attempt to impale him. Slug after slug of Gauss and Rifle fire slammed into the wave of Shade now mere yards away from him.

Spinning around and dodgina a strike, Aleron brought his magnetically boosted fist down on top the nearest Shade. The Olim cried out in pain as his suit absorbed the shock from the magnetically accelerated strike, but the Shade slammed down to the ground, a large crack on its top carapace. Around him, the Shade were being surrounded by enveloping fire. Aleron continued his Matador style attacks with zeal. Alicia fired off a burst as a Sparky charged at Dan, the 7.62mm bullets tearing its arm off. Getting the warning, Dan finally began to fall back, Sam finishing the Shade off with one final shot

But it was too little too late as Dan found himself facing off with another snarling Sparky. The creature leaped towards him with its spike out. Dan rolled into the dirt with the hit and flung the Sparky back like a wrestler even as he cursed from the initial hit.

John knew that Dan was screwed, reloaded his SCAR and rushed in, covering the Marine's back. Holding off another two Sparkies, Sam and Alicia took the chance and put them down with long range fire. Dan meanwhile imitated Aleron as best he could, tempting the Sparky into a matador style conflict, taking a thwack across the stomach as he smashed his elbow into the Shade, John jumping on and using his own strength mode to put the Sparky down with the butt of his rifle.

Finally, with only one Sparky left, Sam aimed her Gauss Rifle and tore it in half with a well placed shot. Dan covered his face as shards flew past, the tiny splotches of acid leaving his suit pockmarked, but undamaged.

Silence, the entire group realized that it had been a _little_ too close for comfort that time and there was no telling what might happen now. Again, just like the bugs, the Shade suddenly vanished, almost as if they hadn't been real. But the pockmarks of acid and pain in their joints and limbs remained, so everyone was still on guard. There was no telling what was coming next.

* * *

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**A/N: **Two more smaller chapters. You could call it the equivalent of a 90 minute episode! Joy! :D**  
**


	6. Chapter 6

They regrouped in front of the obelisk, and Sam shook her head. "We should go back to Atlantis and get reinforcements if there's still one more 'test' to go. Who knows what it might be. I've only got two more clips."

Alicia patted down her body, then nodded. "Good idea, I've only got a few clips too. No way we can keep this up."

As a group, they'd decided. Sam turned to Aleron who looked scuffed and dirty from his close in fight. "You okay?

A simple nod was her only answer from the Olim. Sam then turned to Dan. "You alright, Drake?"

Feeling his broken pads of ceramic armor, Dan scoffed and nodded. "_Semper fidelis_."

Sam snorted softly at Dan's waving off of his injuries, but seeing Aleron's strange expression, she worried. Something had definitely bothered him.

John took a deep breath and reloaded his rifle with his second last clip. "Alright, sure this thing'll wait for us?"

Sam hesitated a moment, the replied softly. "I'm not sure… us leaving might fail the test if it's scanning us. I just don't know enough about the situation to tell for sure."

Aleron turned to the Obelisk and then bowed his head. "We can't leave. Resolve. That's the test. Do we have the resolve to stay and fight?"

Dan scoffed. "What? With just a few guns? Fuck that, who knows what shit that thing might roll up on us next, I'm _not_ St George and I ain't fightin' no dragon without some heavy artillery!"

Sam checked her facepalm. Given her suit's strength mode, she'd have likely cracked her helmet if she hadn't. "_Regardless…._ Aleron does have a point. We've come this far. So far the odds have been pretty even and I'd hate to think we came out all this way just to fail."

John remained quiet, but looked at Sam. She could tell he was rightfully questioning whether she was being logical or emotional. Truthfully at this point, she didn't know. She made it clear with the way her face tightened, yet remained loose around the eyes. John easily picked up her worry and decided to keep morale up. "Agreed. Let's take a tally, what've we got?

What they had turned out to be a pair of extra clips each for their weapons, a few frag grenades, and some C4 apart from their particle magnum sidearms. Taking control of the situation. John spat fire orders. "Alright, Drake, set up a perimeter of C4 charges on those big rocks." He pointed to a cluster of boulders that had been the primary attack route of the last two waves. "Have the blast facing away from us near the obelisk. Set up two frequencies so we have a backup too, then get up near the obelisk."

He turned to Alicia. "Get a good sniping position. Here." John tossed her the rest of his clips. "You'll need it more than me." He turned to Aleron. "Gimme your P90, spread the fire around."

Aleron hesitated for a second then relented. "Let's just hope it's not Shade that's coming."

John accepted the weapon and began to ready it for action. "Well it's you and me down here, so I'm hoping that too." He turned to Sam and simply nodded. She'd stay back and snipe with her Gauss Rifle along with Dan whatever it was that was coming next.

It only took a minute for them to prepare, John quickly coordinating the whole thing while Sam did a final check on the obelisk. There was only one more 'activate' button and she eyed it carefully. Before she knew it, John appeared next to her and quietly spoke on private channels. "Hey."

"Ready?"

"Not really, but that's never stopped us before."

John waited a second and nodded. He gave Sam's hand a soft squeeze through their suits and moved off to join Aleron. She noticed Dan at a nearby rock, prepared to fight. They were as ready as they could be.

Once everyone was in position, Sam depressed the button. Just like the two times before, a disorienting shockwave passed through, only this time, it seemed to lift the dirt up out of the ground it was so strong. Sam barely managed to hold onto a nearby rock keeping upright.

Nothing happened, but the team knew it didn't make a difference. Something was coming and they were ready for it.

The ground began to shake, and the dirt and sand that covered the buildings fell like a fluid, coating the area in a haze of smoke. John silently thanked the fact that instead of a breathing mask, these suits used rebreathers. The ground was still shaking though and it was becoming more acute. "Get ready!"

Everyone held still, controlling their breathing and waiting. It suddenly felt like a really bad idea to engage that last button but it was too late now. The rumbling began to crack the dirt and street below them, the fissures deepening as the very earth itself began to rend open like it was giving birth. John and Aleron began to backpedal, clearly wanting to stay out of whatever was coming up's range.

The ground ballooned upwards, and spouts of dirt flew up in geysers spraying the area with dirt and rocks. The constant pitter-patter of falling debris was confusing and nerve wracking, as where the loud cracking sounds of boulder sized chunks of rock simply splitting in half from the massive stress.

A strange bluish light began to flow through from below. It was almost as if some heathen god had been awakened and was about to wreck havoc on those that would disturb his slumber.

Before anyone could say anything, the ground finally tore asunder and what looked like a giant… _blob_ came out amidst a huge cloud of torn rock and dirt. It was three times bigger than a jumper, and began to shift around as if it weren't completely solid. It was also slightly transparent and jiggled about like Jell-O.

Nobody hesitated this time and an outpouring of weapons fire came flying up to greet it amidst the chaos it created. Contrary to its fluid like appearance, as soon as a bullet or slug hit it, the area solidified and blocked the shot from penetrating. Only Aleron's Particle Rifle seemed to do any damage as it blackened and stripped off thin layers of its skin.

It had noticed the attack though, and extending it's mass, began to swipe at the offenders. Instead of just splashing and bouncing through the rocks that gave the team cover though, it smashed through like a hyper-accelerated sledgehammer throwing a huge mass of debris to the side which pockmarked an already damaged building..

John and Aleron barely dodged a second strike, now in full retreat. Nobody had to say anything, this was _far_ beyond their capability to fight at the moment and they needed a better plan. John screamed as they regrouped at the Obelisk and began a tactical retreat. "Drake! Blow it!"

Dan stumbled as he slung his rifle around his back and tried to maintain enough balance to trigger the detonator in his hand. Alicia had hopped down from her perch by the Obelisk and helped to steady him long enough to click the trigger.

The resounding _boom_ and subsonic rumble threw up so much dirt and rock that it completely obscured the creature which now made a strange warbling noise. It was so alien that nobody could tell if it was hurt or not. Nobody cared as they all rushed out of the square and ran back out towards the open area of the destroyed city.

Sam finally caught her breath and waved the team into an organized line. She drew her rifle and aimed towards the square, still filled with dirt and torn rock raining down around them. "The _hell_ was that! Aleron, have you seen anything like that?"

The Olim shook his head and switched his particle rifle to overcharge. "No, never. I didn't see your bullets do anything but I think my rifle did some damage."

John nodded as he caught his breath, still urging everyone to move to somewhere with some cover. "I saw that too… Everyone! Magnums now!"

Everyone drew their weapons, but knew it was unlikely it'd make a huge difference. Sam holstered her rifle and began to work on her wrist computer. "Whatever it is, I think if we triangulate our sensors, we might be able to work out what it's made of and how we can beat it."

John gave Sam a pedantic glare. "_Seriously? _That thing's huge! We should take it down slowly, bug bites."

Alicia shuddered at the term, but Dan nodded as they finally reached a small rock outcropping. "Agreed. let's flank it and keep it distracted."

To Sam's surprise, John turned and glared at Drake. "This _isn't_ a democracy." He turned to Sam and motioned to the buildings where the strange warbling sound was still coming from. "Let's combine. Flank and scan, but no risks. That thing chewed through our cover like butter. Someone should stay by the 'gate just in case."

Sam was surprised at how John easily controlled the situation. Granted she could have done it just as well, but he had a presence as a leader that even she had to admit was worth following. Sam momentarily wished she had that naturally instead of a learned skill. "Alright." She turned to everyone and nodded. "Here's the plan, everyone set your suits to external scan mode. Just bring up the menu on your wrist computer and it'll be near the bottom. Link up to my suit and I'll see what I can figure out." Sotto voce, she added. "_Wish Rey were here."_

John didn't say anything, but began to organize them once more. the creature seemed to be resurfacing from the dirt, tearing apart the buildings as if they were just toys. "Spread out! Ten meters apart, cover each other once that thing gets loose!"

Sam quickly worked on her wrist computer, the touch screen interface getting a workout as her fingers danced along it. "Keep it occupied! There's no telling how long this'll take!" She could almost hear the annoyed huffs from everyone. This wasn't at all turning out how they'd planned.

The creature finally broke through the shell of the city, it remained as blob like as before, except now it seemed to have a trio of arms it used to spin around and smash things. John wasn't sure if he was impressed or terrified. "Open fire!"

The five person team fired from range, the red bolts of particle weapons sizzled as they impacted, leaving burnt scabs that fell off the creature like dried skin. They only had a few extra clips, and it quickly became clear that even if they had a hundred extra clips, they still couldn't take this creature down.

So Sam changed the plan. "Everyone! Fall back to the 'gate! I've got a plan!" She changed a few settings on her wrist computer, and fell back while firing behind her.

Nobody questioned it as everyone began to fall back. Their scanners were still running though and Alicia could see the information scrolling on her eyepiece. She'd gotten about halfway back to the 'gate when something caught her eye. Even while running, Alicia turned and fired, but also read the information. The others had abandoned the plan in favor of what she assumed was either a full retreat or some kind of crazy SG-1 plan she'd heard Sam liked to pull out in a pinch, probably involving the 'gate.

_Screw that!_ This was the _Alicia_ show! Alicia spun on her heel and switched her suit to strength mode once more. "Colonel! Permission to do something stupid!"

Both Sam and John had reached the gate and only now noticed that Alicia was standing in the path of the creature. _"What?"_

Alicia laughed softly to herself. This was crazy, _insane_ crazy, not just that normal crazy that got them out safe. But if the data was accurate…

* * *

Dan had just jumped up to the cliff face where the Stargate was when he realized Alicia wasn't behind him. "Leesh?"

He heard Carter and Sheppard screaming on the radio, but as he looked carefully, he saw Alicia running _towards_ the creature. Something was _very_ off and he wasn't about to let Alicia go it alone. He jumped off the cliff face leaving Sheppard and Carter on their own with Aleron and charged in as well.

Raising his gun, he fired the last three shots left in the battery and reloaded it as he ran. Alicia didn't even bother to fire as she closed in. _Shoot! __Why aren't you shooting you stupid bitch! Shoot it!_

Before he could finish reloading, he saw Alicia crouch in front of the creature…

And use the suit's magnetic field to jump up and _into _it. She seemed to be absorbed by the creature, the strange shell allowing her passage while their bullets were stopped.

He heard screaming on the radio, he couldn't tell if it was her or Sheppard. But his teammate had just literally dived into the - mouth? – of that creature and had been swallowed whole.

Now Dan was _mad._ He slammed in the new clip and tried to find this thing's face. A second after he shot his first pulse, a swarm of more particle bolts came in from above as the rest of the team fired as well.

The creature shrugged it all off and began to spin around, its strange tentacle–like appendages swinging about ready to smash everything around it.

Just as Dan prepared himself to get tenderized, the creature suddenly let out a high pitched warble and spun out of control. It shook violently and began to lose pieces of itself, falling to the ground and seeping back into the earth.

Dan saw the change and rushed forward, firing in a steady stream as gobs of translucent goo fell around him. The shots from above were coming from closer now as the rest of the team rushed ahead as well.

By the time they actually reached the creature, it had completely lost all coherence and splattered to the ground like a dead jellyfish. had one of them gotten a really lucky shot?

_"Uhh… can someone come find me? I'm somewhere where I don't know where I am. And I don't really wanna think about it."_

_"Alicia!"_ Dan forgot about the rest of the team and dove head first into the slimy muck. The dirt was mixing in with the creature now creating a strange and disgusting biomud. The suit protected him fully and it felt strange to be sort of swimming and sort of clawing his way through a dead…whatever the hell this thing was.

Eventually he reached the center, where he bumped into something familiar. It lashed out at him with an armored boot.

_"Ow! Watch it, that's my ass."_

Dan rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around what he'd hit. He visually turned on his radio. "I _know_. I'm _trying_ to _save _it."

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

Seeing Dan swimming inside the dead blob thing, John finally had enough time to ask. "Uhh… someone wanna explain what just happened?"

Sam switched her headset back to the sensor scans, and then cursed softly as she realized what had happened. "Aw _dammit._ I switched my view to the target assist mode and I missed the results of the scan. Here look." Sam tapped on her wrist computer and turned to John to show him on his own eyepiece. Unbeknownst to them, Aleron had spotted a strange glow coming from the ruins and Obelisk and headed for it.

John shook his vision clear then watched as the scan indicated several technical things which he didn't understand. "Um…translation?"

Coming out from the creature's dead mass below, a pair of feet burst forth flailing comically. Both quickly recognized Alicia, but Sam pushed on. "It's an amoeba. Granted a really _large_ one, but it's composed of a metamaterial-like organic substance. At least the shell is. That's why our bullets didn't do anything."

John blinked again. All he understood was that it was bulletproof."So Leesh jumped in to kill it from the inside?"

Sam shrugged. "I was going to try and use the 'gate's unstable vortex to burn enough of it away to maybe kill it, but this works."

Now aware of what had happened, both Colonels got closer to where Dan and Alicia had emerged from the muck. Helping them up, Dan wiped his visor clear and said. "Hey, where'd Daredevil go?"

The team look around, and finally saw that the Olim had walked off on his own towards the obelisk which now clearly gave off a strange yellowish glow through the smoke and haze.

Dan stayed behind with Alicia, helping her towards the gate as Sam and John moved off towards the Obelisk. As they neared it, Aleron suddenly stormed past, not saying a word.

"Hey, Ally!"

Aleron ignored John's call, and moved off towards the Stargate. John and Sam shared a glance, and wondered what the hell they might find inside that could have caused such a reaction from Aleron.

* * *

Daniel and Teyla were both there to greet the team as they came through the gate, but given the cold shoulder and disgusting slime on all of them, he could tell it hadn't turned out well. "Uhh… okay. Safe to say that something went wrong?"

In the lead, Sam let off a heavy sigh as she turned and saw Dan and John help a limping Alicia. Aleron merely walked off as if nothing mattered. She shook her head and motioned to John and Dan. "Get cleaned up, I'll tell them."

John and Dan nodded, and Alicia continued to walk oddly. Teyla screwed her face and said, "Did Alicia have an accident?"

"No, she got eaten by a giant…_single celled organism."_

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Sam reached up, popped off her helmet and took a deep breath. "It's a long story… I hope Nevas is around because he's going to _love_ this."

* * *

"John, do you believe in curses?"

"Why, cuz you keep getting hurt?" John snorted softly as he helped Alicia into an Infirmary bed. "That's cuz you keep face planting into whatever's trying to kill us!"

Carson arrived quickly and groaned softly at the wet pulpy footprints of slime the soldiers had left behind. "Oh, for cryin' out… What _is_ this? Ugh! It smells awful!"

Alicia relaxed as she sat back in her full body armor and sighed. "According to Carter's scans, it's what's left of a big dumb jellyfish."

Dan snorted and rolled his eyes. "Technically the scans said a giant amoeba."

Carson snorted almost derisively as Reyna now began a scan of Alicia's body through her suit. "An amoeba? Impossible. Single celled life can't grow to…" he used his pen to brush away some of the slime on John's arm. "…_this _big."

John shook his head and continued to clean himself off. Some of the nearby nurses grimaced at the mess and came toward them with towels. "Believe it. Thing was as big as a house. You'd have to ask Sam for details but it was tough as hell." He smiled pedantically at Alicia. "The good Major here decided to let it _eat _her so she could get a good shot from _inside."_

Reyna froze at hearing that. She quickly shook it off but Alicia had seen it. "Actually…" Alicia turned an accusatory face to Reyna. "The good _doctor_ here was the one to give me the idea."

"I did not!" Reyna protested. "Why would I ever think it's good idea to go into the digestive tract of _any_ creature?"

"Huh?" Dan, John and Carson were all quite confused.

Alicia smiled and deadpanned. "Reyna hated the end of _Men in Black_. Said it wasn't realistic at all."

With his helmet off, and the smell of the rotting amoeba in his nostrils, John was only too glad he could finally palm his forehead in frustration.

* * *

Inside Daniel's office, Sam had just finished summarizing what they'd discovered not an hour ago on the wasteland world.

Daniel was less than enthusiastic. "So the Ancients developed this whole elaborate test, three planets, three hazards… all just to tell you that they're leaving us this galaxy?" Daniel was awestruckand was glad only Nevas and Teyla were here alongside Sam.

Sam rubbed her temple and forehead with her thumb and index finger. "From what I could tell, the Ancients left those obelisks in order to ensure that when, the Olim found them, they would continue to advance until they could solve them. And when they _did _finally beat all the tests, it would reassure them that they were strong enough to retake the galaxy from the Shade." Sam tapped the table just to emphasize her point. "The Olim wouldn't have survived any of those tests, Aleron helped me translate but he wouldn't have even caught the first one. The only reason we were able to get through as easily as we did was because they weren't meant for us. The tests were to see if the Olim culture could advance scientifically and culturally to handle something as difficult as fighting something like the Shade without losing themselves in the process."

Nevas shook his head in befuddlement. "Wait. So you mean there _aren't_ any living Ancestors here? Didn't it give you coordinates for a base? Another space station? A _planet_?"

Sam shook her head and leaned back in her chair, frustration the easiest term to describe her. "Nothing. Nada. _Zilch. _All we got in the end was a hologram telling us all this._"_ She closed her eyes and fisted her hands. "It was just a _test_. No prize, no pot of gold at the end, not even a princess telling us to go to another castle!"

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "Another castle?"

Daniel waved it off. "Never mind…" He looked back at Sam. "There has to be _something_. Aleron looked really distraught. I'd have thought he'd be happy knowing that we were able to beat the Ancient's tests."

Shrugging as if an afterthought, Sam scoffed. "Huh yeah, well the only thing I can think of was that the hologram said that the Ancients wished they could have seen their children, but because they'd sworn to keep their mistake theirs, and not their children's, they only hoped that the one's who'd been stranded with the Olim taught them well."

Teyla caught on instantly. "Wait. The ones who were stranded? I thought the Olim were descended from the Ancestors. Carson confirmed it, they have ancestral genetic material."

Daniel on the other hand could see from Sam's eyes what she meant. "She means that the Olim's faith is a lie. Progenesis says that the Alterra willingly joined the Olim race. It doesn't say anything about them being stranded." Daniel bowed his head and sighed. "Everything Aleron's been taught is a lie. The whole Olim religion…their entire culture is based on a _lie,_ Teyla."

* * *

"You gonna talk to him?"

John shook his head and banged his fist softly against the railing of the mess hall balcony. They often came here to chat about business, doing their best to keep their personal and professional lives separate. "Nah, he won't listen to me. Last I heard he just went to his room. Hasn't left."

Sam bit the insides of her lips, the entire mission had been a complete waste and now they had a depressed Olim on their hands. "You think he'd listen to me? I'm the one who figured it out. I'm probably his AntiChrist."

Snorting, John shook his head. "I don't know what to do with him anymore. He's been getting angrier and I think he's going to snap soon." Sighing, John took Sam's hand and softly rubbed his thumb on the back of her palm. "He might turn into a problem. You got any ideas?"

Sam flipped her hand around and squeezed John's back. He wouldn't say it, not out loud, but he was happy that they were okay. Sam was alright with this form of subcommunication. Sadly though, she drew a blank. "Give me a Stargate and I'll blow up a star… people…I'm not so good with."

* * *

Aleron breathed deeply, the air was stale on Ares, but at least it was fresher than his suit's rebreather.

There was no one who would understand what he felt now. Loneliness had been nibbling away at him for awhile now and with the revelation of the Progenitor's lies - lies which were so much more than simply what the Atlanteans had assumed they were…

Nothing was real anymore, nothing had any tangible feeling. Aleron found himself reaching for his pack where he'd kept his personal belongings, what few he still had left.

Sitting down on the floor of his balcony, his back to the railing, he set the small crystal figure of Aquilina's face on the floor next to him. Grabbing his small flute, he slowly twiddled it between his fingers. "Ohh… _Lina…_ what have we done?"

Almost every song he knew was dedicated to the Progenitors. His ancestors… the birth of the Olim. Aulus had told him enough to know that Progenesis was just a convenient façade, a standard to rally behind, but not an outright lie. He doubted even Aulus knew of this. It felt wrong to play something from his former life.

So he thought long and hard, focusing on the sounds he'd heard Rafaela one day singing to Torren as she babysat him in her lab.

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star… how I wonder what you are…_

_

* * *

_

**End of Episode 6**

**Episode Notes: **This episode took a considerable amount of time to write. The original premise is still there, but I was struck with inspiration and what we have now is the result. We'll still see the aspect I didn't put here but that's another episode entirely :D

On a somewhat sadder note, I will be taking a break from Fanfiction in total for a few weeks. I'm burnt out severely and need to rest. Dark Frontier, Crygate, and _maybe_ WHOTA will continue at that point until they're done. Just set up your alerts (C2 or Author Alert for Dark Frontier) and you'll get updates…eventually :P Thankfully this isn't something I'm not used to and I know a little break will do me a lot of good. That and I'm rewatching a bunch of old comedies such as "The Boondocks" and "Tripping the Rift" which make me smile :D

If you do require some reading material. Here are a few recommendations

**Light: **

**AkamaiMom** has lots of longer SG-1 related stories, Be warned, Sam/Jack is a constant in her world

**Rachel500** has some great shorter stories which are Sam centric. Look her up!

**Fandomatic** has a great McKay adventure story called "Murphy's First Law" which still makes me chortle.

You could go to my profile and read **Occupational Hazard **:D A humorous SG1 adventure involving lots of shooting and witty banter :D The sequel is in the works :D

**TheIceMenace** has written a lot of funny medium length fics, just be warned for severe fluff :P

**Dark:**

**WritingInCT** cannot steer you wrong. Warning for potential slash, but the quality is superb.

If you haven't read **SBZ's "The Way"** series, you should. Very dark and angsty, heavy Sam focus. Just beware a rare pairing eventually :P

**Neela** continues work on **"Some Corner of a Foreign Field"** and will be updating soon :D go Apoca!Fic!

And finally, thank you to all readers. I hate to have to leave for a bit (just a bit! I promise!) but I need a break if I want to keep the quality level nice and high :D Mwah! Hugs and kisses to the ladies, props to the bros!

**Teaser for Episode 7 – A Small Problem(s)**

* * *

**Daniel Jackson:** You're kidding me!

**Carson Beckett:** Not in the slightest. You haven't noticed because they've been keeping it quiet, and most of them are the laborers who stay away from command levels.

**Teyla Emmagan:** I have noticed a few, but a far cry from what you say, Carson. I'm shocked and appalled that we missed this.

**Carson Beckett:** Yes well, it's happened. And in two months we're going to be so bone dry on supplies, we'll have the fear of scurvy on our hands!

**John Sheppard:** Scurvy? Isn't that a pirate's disease?

**Carson Beckett:** Aye, y'have no idea how fitting that comment is.

* * *

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